Simon was terrified of that too, that Mia would only stay alive as long as he was useful to Astral, and after that time had passed, the god would do something terrible to her. At this point, he’d just accepted that there were no happy endings for any of them.
No more hopeful daydreaming for these two. All they could wish for was some mercy or a quick death. The worst-case scenario… an eternity of pain, or madness in minutes. Mia closed her eyes, trembling some at the thought. She, she needed to keep Simon calm, but she herself couldn't hide her terror completely.
Feeling Mia beginning to tremble, Simon silently moved closer to her side. At this point….he was almost certain that if Astral didn’t kill him after the baby was born, then Simon would do it himself. He was already so done with the pain.
Mia couldn't help herself much longer- she pressed as much to Simon as she could without touching his stomach, beginning to cry softly. Her silent sobs racked through her body.
"I… I-I-" She couldn't even form words, but just her tone showed how much despair was coursing through her.
“I know…” he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. He didn’t know what else to say. There were no comforting words he could think of. There was simply no hope for the future.
Mia fell back into her silent sobs, shaking more and more. She pressed her head to his, hope lost. Everything, just… lost. They couldn't, they could never escape. Even- even in death, that fucking demon would still have his grip on them.
“I’m sorry….” he said quietly, not knowing what else to really say. Because what was there to even say when you were in a situation as dire as this one? But at least one thing was very clear to him now and that was that he hated Astral, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Mia shook her head some, even if she couldn't say anything out loud. This wasn't Simon's fault. He had no idea, no idea what Astral was- is capable of.
“No but…I’m just sorry you have to go through all of this.” He said quietly. He wanted to hurt Astral for everything he’d done to them. He wanted the god to just…disappear from their lives forever.
"Y… You're," Mia choked out. "Hurt- h-hurt one…." She shook her head again, pressing close. Simon was the one who'd been forced to bear child, the one forced to live with all of this. Mia was just the provider Astral had decided on for him.
He shrugged, not really wanting to think about it. “But that doesn’t mean it’s okay for you to suffer..it’s still not right that you’re hurting this much. And I’m sorry that that’s how it is right now.” He was able to sound surprisingly calm at the moment.
Mia sniffled, wiping at her tears with the heel of one of her hands. She pushed closer to Simon, still shaking. She didn't say a word, not again. She just… she felt so horrible, forcing Simon to care for her. He was the one so hurt, but she… all she had to worry about was death. He had to worry about so, so much more…
Simon sat up at last, pushing the blankets off of him. His eyes were still red rimmed from when he’d been crying quietly earlier. He forced himself to smile, and though it wasn’t much, it was still there. “It’s okay, don’t cry.”
Mia looked up, wiping at her cheeks again. She sat up as well, hesitating before reaching over to hug Simon. So, so careful of his stomach… She didn't speak, just keep close as she tried to take Simon's advice.
Simon hugged Mia tightly, he was honestly shaking a bit himself. He didn’t say anything either, just holding her tightly, despite the amount of pain he felt inside at the moment.
Mia buried her head in Simon's shoulder, unable to help it as a few more tears fell. She could feel him shaking, she knew he was going through so much. She pulled herself closer, hands tightening around the back of Simon's shirt.
Simon held her close, rubbing her back gently. She’d comforted him all day and he was happy to return the favor. “It’s okay, let it all out.”
Mia shook more, her tears back to flowing freely. They were doomed- there was nothing they could do to save themselves. They were completely at Astral's mercy. Mia, she'd- she'd been through this before, but she had foolishly thought that things would be different.
Simon was still hoping for the best but he knew that was very unlikely to happen. Astral was a monster, and there was no reason for him not to hurt them.
"I… I-I can't…" Mia sobbed softly into Simon's shoulder. Even if Astral had taken a liking to Simon, in his own sick, twisted way, Mia didn't have that protection. She was dead, he'd find some way to lock her away again, or maybe he'd just destroy- destroy her soul… She let out a choked sob-scream at that, a wail of despair.
It broke his heart to hear her sobbing like that. “I know, I’m sorry.” He said, continuing to rub her back. He’d do anything he could to protect her from Astral, using Astral’s liking to him in any way he could.
Mia continued to sob. It didn't help, it didn't help. She was doomed, and Simon most likely was too.
"I hate him!!" She finally managed to scream. She sobbed again, shaking like a leaf. "I hate him, I-I hate him!!"
Simon instinctively looked around the room, checking that Astral hadn’t magically shown up before replying. “I know you do..I hate him too.” Tears pricked at his eyes and he continued rubbing her back. “I’m so sorry…”
Mia couldn't bring herself to care anymore. Let him show up! There was nothing he could do she didn't already expect. Nothing he could do to hurt her she didn't think wouldn't happen anyway.
"Hate… hate him…" Mia trailed off into her tears, her energy gone.
“I know…” he whispered, hugging her tightly. “We’ll get him back for all of this someday, I promise.”
Mia nodded weakly. She didn't believe it, not at all. She went near limp, crying some still. She'd damn near broke…
It scared Simon, he didn’t want to be left alone. He really did want to make Astral pay for all of this, but he realistically knew there was no way it was going to happen. He wasn’t strong enough. He was scared, and bitter.
Mia was terrified, and angry. And… hopeless. She couldn't do anything, nothing would make a difference. Nothing mattered… Mia closed her eyes, falling silent. She placed her head against Simon's neck, fully limp now. She might have passed out, even…
“Mia?” He asked softly. He was going to shake her to wake her up but then he stopped himself. Maybe…it’d be better that way. If it was another second she could escape the pain then who was he to wake her.
Mia seemed to at least have calmed down now that she was unconscious. Hopefully, she wasn't dreaming. It would be too easy for things to turn sour… The woman rested heavy on Simon, unable to stop her body from pressing to his anymore.